Bai Juyi: Evening Listen to a Guzheng Play Like Deep and Clear River Music

 

[updated September 2022]

 

Evening Listen to a Guzheng Play Like Deep and Clear River Music

 

夜 闻 筝 中 弹 潇 湘
缥 缈 巫 山 女
归 来 七 八 年。
殷 勤 湘 水 曲
留 在 十 三 弦。
苦 调 吟 还 出
深 情 咽 不 传。
万 重 云 水 思
今 夜 月 明 前。
Ye Wen Zheng Zhong Tan Xiao Xiang

Piao miao wu shan nu
Gui lai qi ba nian.
Yan qin xiang shui qu
Liu zai shi san xian.

Ku dao yin huan chu
Shen qing yan bu chuan.
Wan chong yun shui si
Jin ye yue ming qian.

 

Evening Listen to a Guzheng Play Like Deep and Clear River Music

Misty and elusive shaman mountain goddess
I was here seven or eight years ago.
Touching Xiang River songs
Thirteen-string guzheng tones permeate the surroundings.

Musical register of deep sorrows return
Cannot express these deep and clear emotions.
Think of the thousands of clouds and rivers
All night long the moonlight bright.

 

Notes:

Xiang River:  Second largest tributary to the Changjiang (Yangzi River)

Guzheng:  Multi-stringed musical instrument similar to a zither. History dates back 2,500 years.